June 24, 2026
The Pteranodons (Kids) are off to an early lead in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. On Friday morning June 19th, they have 384 reading points. Thanks to two young people who were the first to win their reading medals and now have doubled their reading points to over 100, Peyton and Hunter Schutte. Skyler Thewis helped as well by earning his reading medal. Well done, kids! The Velociraptors (Adults) have fallen far behind only gaining 50 more reading points this week. Bringing their total to 150. Come on adults, if you have not signed up for your reading team do so this week. We need you. You may pick up a brochure with a variety of offerings for different age groups. You do not need to attend the programs to be a part of Summer Reading. The only requirement is reading or listening while someone else reads to you. Monthly Take and Make craft projects will be available. Weekly “Unearth a Story” theme projects will also be available.
During the first week of programs the kids all made miniature garden homes for their adopted dinosaurs. Rocks and soil were added to a plastic container with holes in the bottom. Kids chose from a variety of coleus to plant. Then they added rocks, pinecones, shells, moss, gems, and more to bring their gardens to life. We learned about Mary Anning and her discovery of the Ichthyosaur with her brother, Joe, a Plesiosaur and Pterosaur as well as many other fossils along the coast in Lyme Regis, United Kingdom in the early 1800s. Week two we will be painting with the Middles and making dinosaur feet and a crown with the Littles. As I write this Friday morning, I’m looking forward to painting with the teens this afternoon. We’ll be following along with Skye the Painter to create “Seaside Flip Flops”. Pictures are posted on our library’s Facebook page, Legion Memorial Library and on our website, legionmemoriallibrary.org.
We held our first Adult Storytime at The Friends Place. We talked about gardening and shared excerpts from the following books:” The Garden Primer” by Barbara Damrosch, “Garden Wisdom” by Jerry Apps, “Putting Down Roots” by Marcia C. Carmichael, and “The New Heirloom Garden” by Ellen Ecker Ogden. We made fairy garden stakes to add to our own home gardens and are looking forward to meeting again in July when the theme will be The Declaration of Independence.
Register for the Bellringer Run online from this link: https://runsignup.com/Race/WI/Mellen/FriendsOfTheMellenBellringerRun Paper registration forms are available from the library. Please be sure to use links for registration from the Legion Memorial Library’s website or Facebook page or “Mellen Bellringer” Facebook page. The link is pinned to the top of each Facebook page. Information provided from other sites may not be updated or accurate. The time for receiving a t-shirt with your registration has passed. We will order a few extra shirts, and the cost will be $25 for adult sizes and $21 for youth sizes. Thank you so much to all who share this information with family, friends, & neighbors! Our Friends & volunteers appreciate the help. We want the days leading up to the race and race day to be fun, happy, and successful. Early Bird pick-up of shirts & bib numbers will be on Friday, July 3rd from 4-6pm at the library. Additional registrations are taken until 8am on race day.
The Friends of the Library are hosting a 50/50 Raffle this year on the 4th of July. Buy your tickets at the Library or from a Friend of the Library.
June 24th at 8:30am Asahi Nordic Exercise outdoors as the weather permits -We will then be on break until July 15th.
June 25th at 9am Summer Reading Fun for the Littles (Ages 5 and under) will be creating their own Dinosaur feet & Crown/Mask
June 30th at 10:30am Summer Reading Fun for the Middles (Grades 1-5) We’ll be reading “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs” by Mo Willems
June 30th at 5:05pm Library Board Meeting of the Trustees
July 2nd at 9am Summer Reading Fun for the Littles (Ages 5 and under) will be reading “One-osaurus, Two-osaurus” by Kim Norman
July 3rd at 3pm The Friends of the Library’s Annual Frog Jump at Gilman Park
July 3rd 4-6pm Early Bird Pick-up of Bellringer Race Bibs and pre-ordered T-shirts. You may also register for the race and receive your bib numbers.
July 4th 7-8am Pick-up of Bellringer Race Bibs and pre-ordered T-shirts and final registrations for the race.
July 4 at 8:30am The Bellringer Race begins on Bennett by the Post Office. Finish is by Northern State Bank